Thursday, January 24, 2013

It was mentally challenging. I ate as a vegan - followed a meal plan - didn't stray from the plan!

But it was WORTH IT!! I feel amazing - I cut off my emotional tie with food - I eat for fuel not for my own person reasons now which trust me is freeing! I am still eating clean & have a meal plan for success for not only me, but my entire family!

I am proud of myself! With no working out & 21 days I lost 7.2 pounds & 6.25 inches. Pretty awesome right!

If you are interested in trying this out please email me for more details - I would love to help you get started & plug you into a group with others going through the same process - trust me support is KEY!!

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

I had this break through moment yesterday. I realized I hadn't even thought about Down Syndrome in days. I wasn't even sure the last time I mentioned the words.

And I know most people hear that and think it's insane or that I fixate on Down Syndrome. I don't. If I allowed myself, I could let it rule me, let it fill my mind with what ifs, nevers, maybes, a parade of fears. But I have always said Ollie will prove her capabilities to us, we will not set them upon her.

It's hard to not have it in your mind daily. She is constantly compared and tested against her peers. I have to constantly make the best decisions for her, work with her therapy goals at home with homework assignments, mark off her checklist of milestones, write down every single word just so it's counted for her. I have to decide is she ready to move to a 2 year old class at church in a month or stay with the 1 year olds? What's right? I don't know. What to do with therapies, what goals to write down for her to push her therapies for her to be preschool ready when she's three. There is SO much to consider for her that just came along with my other two typically developing kids. So even though I don't fixate DS, I live with it.

However, as she's turning 2 it's not as present. I just see her, beautiful, messy, spectacular, god-gifted, smart, funny, silly, wild, ornery her. And that is what I fixate on.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Day 1 was great. Amazing food - eggs & toast with kale, a huge salad with cashews& homemade dressing, salmon with asparagus & potatoes, oatmeal with cinnamon & blueberries, black beans & rice with guacamole & salsa! Day 2 was rough. I was in full blown detox - had a headache, slight fever, body aches just felt blah but the food was great & huge portions again!

After Day 2 the rest has been smooth sailing! I love the food! Especially the portion sizes!! I'm drinking a minimum of 66 ounces of water a day which I needed to do all along.

I'm also breaking bad habits!

Last night as I prepared dinner, I reached in the cabinet to get Ollie some crackers & went to stuff one in my mouth and thought geesh - I do this all the time - eat without thinking. And I didn't eat it, I put it back. I ate my meal instead. Now I wonder how many crackers, or random snacking I truly did before!!

I wake up every day ready to go full of energy! I've been waking up before my alarm clock too! I'm also down 3 pounds which is killer especially since no exercise is allowed on this plan!

Here is my last week & current picture - not a huge change, but I definitely have less bloating in my abdomen!

Monday, January 7, 2013

They told us you would be different. They told us you would change our lives. They gave us lists of things you would be delayed in. They told us all the ways you would not match up to your peers.

What they failed to mention is that you would be different in all the best ways. That you would change our lives for the better. That you would work harder than all your friends to do the little thi...ngs you do. That every small milestone would become a big celebration. That you would stand out among your peers because your amazing personality & drive to succeed.

People tend to focus on the can'ts, won'ts, never gonnas in life. You my dear are living proof that a persistent heart always triumphs!! I hope that I can be more like you every day of my life.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

I'm doing a challenge right now for 30 days based on Chalene Johnson's book PUSH.

It is fabulous & I highly recommend it to anyone! Her challenge helps you focus on your life & design the life you have always wanted. So many of us set goals in life that do not align with our priorities. Meaning we possibly set a goal to land a promotion at work that requires more travel & hours but our priority in life is our family & spending more time at home present with them - just an example.

If you know her story at all you can see that she has designed a beautiful life for her family. She built a successful fitness company, she is a celebrity trainer with Beachbody, and her family is her number one focus - if anything takes away from time with them she would be very quick to say thanks but no thanks!

She inspired me to lose my weight & now she inspires me to focus on what I want out of life. I invest 30 days in her bootcamp with daily videos, tips, & tricks and I come out of her bootcamp with a bigger vision & focus for my life. Oh yeah and it's free!! Come on - really - you'd be a fool not to join!!

So far I have been loving it. My 3 priorities in life are crystal clear to me - Family first, Financial Security, then helping others. Faith is natural so it doesn't have to even be on the list because it is part of me.

I have wrote mission statements on how I want my relationships to be with my children & Jade. I have very high financial goals for my home business - I want to live a life of freedom. I worry about Ollie's future, her health, and especially her care especially if Jade & I aren't around. I have lots of family that would love & adore her, but in reality her care sometimes isn't cheap. I would love to know that I have it taken care of financially. That she is forever cared for. So I am pushing hard in my business for that reason. At the same time I have to keep my family priority in line & set work hours so when Jade or my kids are around - I am not working. I've just completed 2 days and it's already an eye opener! Thank you Chalene! I adore you woman!!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Most people would cringe at the word cleanse - but I'm pretty stoked!! It's a whole foods cleanse where I go vegan for most of the 21 days, and no exercise the entire time!

I get to eat the foods in this image - yum!

I have huge portions of whole foods & tons of water!

The last time I did the Ultimate Reset I lost 7 pounds, I woke up at 5 AM refreshed & ready to go for the day which is totally unlike me, and I just overall felt amazing!! I'm really looking forward to my results this time around & may stick to a vegetarian lifestyle post cleanse!! I'm also working on getting an appointment for bloodwork so I can know the changes in my cholesterol & blood sugars too!

If you are wondering why...

Well think about the food in your pantry & your fridge - almost all of it is full of preservatives and all kinds of chemicals. They just build up in your body overtime & I want to get rid of them! I truly believe many of our health issues are related to the food we eat and our lack of physical activity - so I will reset at least 2x a year from now on for this reason. And eating only whole foods, mostly organic, is a great way to do it!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

I honestly never signed with the Bigs. I knew how to do some words, but was never consistent enough with my effort to see anything pay off.

But with this little sunshine...we sign constantly.

and it's awesome!!

Girlfriend has lots of words & tons of signs & it makes communication so much easier!! I also highly suggest Baby Signing Times if you don't have it. All three kids love the DVDs - we started with volume 1 and for Christmas bumped up to volume 4. I have seen huge language bursts from Ollie this fall & expect more in the coming months!! She is just now 22 months so I can't wait to see what happens between 2 & 3!!

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About Me

The House That Jade Built was named after our home that my husband built on his own. Our blog was originally started as a way to share my love for home decorating. It quickly turned into a journey of our pregnancy with a Down syndrome diagnosis & journey to open heart surgery. We shared our ups and downs, and journaled our way to our beautiful baby girl! Now we are so excited to share the adventure to bringing baby sister home from China!